WHY Is California Promoting Electric Vehicle Sales When They KNOW They Can't Reliably Deliver Power? ESPECIALLY, In Emergency Situations.

Here it goes again. Another potential electrical power emergency in California.

This weekend record heat potential has SDGE putting people on notice that they will be in 'flex alert' mode until Tuesday evening. If you don't know what that is, it means if you live in the affected areas, your power may go out.

So the warning emails/texts have already gone out telling you things like THIS:

Due to extreme heat and high energy demand expected over the Labor Day weekend, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which manages the state’s electric grid, yesterday issued a call for conservation, known as a Flex Alert, for 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

•    Health and safety permitting, cut down on water use because water pumping/processing requires electricity
•    Don’t charge electric vehicles until the emergency has passed

So let's see...Labor Day Weekend, the weekend SO MANY like to be on the road, you SHOULDN'T charge your vehicles?

And it leads to the next question...traffic is WAY down during the pandemic, office buildings that suck energy like SOME Spies suck Canadian beer after playing a hockey game (that Spy will go nameless), and there's STILL going to be rolling blackouts and I should charge my EV?

What are we missing here? How can this be happening? With ALL the tech knowledge in CA they can't figure this out?

And seeing this is becoming more and more prevelant, WHY does the state keep promoting the sale of EV's?

I don't know all the answers but I do know this.

You won't see me buying one as a MAIN vehicle precisely because of this.

What is your stance?

MDarringer - 9/4/2020 9:15:06 PM

+6 Boost

California is run by fascist-socialist idiots is why. They want freedom destroyed and people economically hobbled so that they are 100% prisoners.

SanJoseDriver - 9/4/2020 10:02:48 PM

+2 Boost

Why promote them? First and foremost it's the right thing to do given the environmental s-show happening today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/18/atlantic-city-key-west-beach-towns-will-be-under-water-climate-change/39697819/

Second, the grid issue can be solved right now with one very simple solution. Scheduled charging on your car for midnight. That's it.

Going forward, billions are being spent on grid storage which could double current capacity. A lot of offices are closed, but everyone is still working from home and the weather has been pretty warm in CA so the AC (less efficient than corporate AC is on full blast most of the day).

I wouldn't worry about access to a supercharger this weekend, as CA has an insane amount available right now (https://www.tesla.com/findus?bounds=42.97269181321262%2C-113.90223002562836%2C31.775098639286238%2C-127.94275736937836&zoom=7&filters=supercharger%2Cdestination%20charger), with tons more under construction. I just saw a 16 charger station is under construction walking distance from where I live (which is unnecessary since everyone has garages in the immediate area).

MDarringer - 9/5/2020 8:24:59 AM

+1 Boost

Typical SJW bullshit response i.e. saying it's the right thing to do when infrastructure is inadequate and the state cannot afford to support the expenditure to remedy it.

SanJose says it's simple: "Just charge in off hours." But that is a temporary solution. Once the number of electric cars grows, that strategy will not work. In fact it will fail miserably.

Foncool - 9/5/2020 9:48:18 AM

+3 Boost

Another that still believes the Global Warming/Climate Change Money Grab. Probably still believes OJ didn’t do it.

The most dangerous thing in the world is a Liberal with a Cause.

SanJoseDriver - 9/5/2020 8:55:24 PM

+3 Boost

Sorry, but you're becoming the edge case here. Conservatives all around the world believe in climate change and many in the US do as well. Ask anyone in the Florida Keys if they believe climate change is real.

MDarringer - 9/8/2020 8:14:37 AM

0 Boost

Climate change is so played out.

dlin - 9/5/2020 2:00:33 AM

0 Boost

Stupid

With the population density in CA you'll only be stuck on the road during emergency if you drive

Just be prepared to shelter in place, unless you live right by the wildfire area

SanJoseDriver - 9/5/2020 9:05:10 AM

0 Boost

Remember unlike a gas car, if you have a garage likely you are plugging it in every night like a cell phone so you start every day with a full charge. You can easily get through multiple days without charging if needed. It's probably safer in an emergency situations than fighting for gas.. plus you can charge anywhere there is electricity.

As for off-peak charging, I think it is a long term solution and is very easy to set up on most EVs. Usually you only need a couple hours of charging at night to top off the battery. What does it matter if the charging is at 8pm or 3am? In fact, PG&E has discount pricing for charging off-peak.

MDarringer - 9/5/2020 11:42:26 AM

-2 Boost

Think this through you idiot. Let's increase the number of cars needing charges during non-peak hours. Your magic solution vanishes quickly.

SanJoseDriver - 9/5/2020 8:50:47 PM

+3 Boost

Let's think this through. This is only an issue during peak energy use months in the summer. That is also when there is the biggest variance between peak and off peak demand. It's a 75% difference between peak and off peak energy usage in the summer. There is enough capacity in that gap to handle at least 4 times as many EVs pulling from the grid simultaneously as the total that exist today in CA, and likely much more.

supermoto - 9/5/2020 11:15:50 AM

+3 Boost

Lol, the supercharger map shows some states with less than 10 supercharger stations - in the entire state! Can you imagine a state with 8 gas stations?

What a joke!

SanJoseDriver - 9/5/2020 8:54:23 PM

+3 Boost

Where? North Dakota? Every outlet is a charger, especially if you live in a low density state with few apartments. If you are in a situation where you may not have a parking spot or garage, you're going to have charging options nearby. There are 65 superchargers in the Bay Area alone, even more in the LA area.

TomM - 9/6/2020 7:59:59 PM

+2 Boost

I have been saying that the current grid does not have the capacity to handle more than only fraction of the total cars on the road today - for several years. THey have not even attempted to address what is needed - a MUTLI TRILLION dollar replacement for our power grid - and it won't happen in our lifetimes. The cost would eventually make electricity more expensive than petroleum

SanJoseDriver - 9/7/2020 9:19:32 PM

+3 Boost

Electricity prices will drop as more capacity is being added to the grid through grid storage and renewables. Supply will eventually outstrip demand and as generation costs drop so will consumer costs.

MDarringer - 9/8/2020 8:30:21 AM

+1 Boost

Idiot, this: "Electricity prices will drop as more capacity is being..." is NOT how utilities work.

Section_31_JTK - 9/7/2020 2:22:41 AM

-1 Boost

The People's Republic of California is run by a bunch of fascists pretending to be liberals. They want to enforce their preferred way of life by fiat. Nevermind the Paris Accords were based on a faulty NOLA study. Global warming is bullshit when China and India are allowed to pollute at current levels until 2030. Screw that. Make them play by the same rules. Of course Slow Joe wants China to have the advantage since they are his masters.

SanJoseDriver - 9/7/2020 9:18:24 PM

+3 Boost

Two wrongs don't make a right. You should base decisions based on what is the right thing to do (and in this case the practical thing, Smog has been out of control in CA this weekend).

MDarringer - 9/8/2020 8:16:45 AM

-1 Boost

You complete dumbass. Smog has NOT been out of control. What you're seeing Mr. Shit-For-Brains is smoke from fires. That's not smog.

SanJoseDriver - 9/10/2020 10:26:21 PM

+1 Boost

Well now it is, there was massive traffic over the 3 day weekend, all news sites (including your favorite Fox) reported smog as a contributor. Don't be such a dbag dude.